Communal areas are intended to encourage low carbon lifestyles with easy access to cycle storage and recycling facilities. Despite a variety of building heights and surface textures, specific elements – windows, doors, balconies, and canopies – maintain a similar look and feel. This brings a meaningful balance to the scheme’s appearance. It avoids the monotonous vibe that modern high-density housing often transmits, but neither does it come across as an ‘architectural zoo’. The internal arrangements of the living spaces have been carefully designed to address and capture views out towards the city and the university. Where the building addresses the city and the uni, the design opens up to create deep, full width balconies. On the south façade, this works to prevent excessive solar gain while creating sheltered outdoor living spaces that engage with the natural outlook. Where the building fronts onto the high street the secondary envelope steps forward, with a language of pilasters and infill panels that help to manage privacy levels.

2022